International postgraduate students’ experiences of plagiarism education in the UK:

student, tutor and expert perspectives

Mary Davis

Abstract

Many studies have confirmed that learning to use sources is difficult, confusing and takes a long
time, especially for international students who are likely to have learnt different academic
conventions to those expected in Anglophone universities (Braine, 2002). Reports of problems with
plagiarism seem to be particularly prevalent among international postgraduates (Pecorari, 2002),
perhaps due to the necessity for them to adapt quickly to new rules about using sources (McGowan,
2005), and a lack of pedagogical support (Murray and Kirton, 2006). There is a growing focus on
plagiarism education, as a key area of learning, not just what not to do, but also about good practice,
gradual development of academic literacy and a discussion of the grey areas of plagiarism
(Sutherland-Smith, 2008; Howard, 2008). However, to date, few case studies are available of
the experiences of plagiarism education of international postgraduate students. Therefore, this
study focuses on a number of international students from Asia and North Africa who took a yearlong
Pre-Master’s programme of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), followed by a Master’s
degree at a UK university. The student participants were interviewed at the end of these 2 years of
study, and their comments were used to analyse their awareness and knowledge of source use, and
the strategies they were employing based on their learning. Interviews were also made with the
tutors on the students’ postgraduate programmes, and with plagiarism education experts, for
further insights into student experiences.

In the interviews, the student participants reported some difficulty understanding the university’s
definition of plagiarism, while tutors either had a positive view or noticed different problems with it,
compared to the students’ views. Students reported how they attempted to follow their tutors’
instructions with source use, but the requirements set by tutors for the students’ level of source use
seem very high. Some students reported that teaching and support related to source use were
limited on their Master’s programmes, and that they continued to have many concerns about
plagiarism, especially at dissertation time. On the other hand, the views of the postgraduate tutors
varied, as some felt it was not their responsibility to teach sources or that they did not have time to
do so, while others said that they gave considerable support to students about source use. Tutors
noted some reasons why they connected international students with plagiarism. The plagiarism
education experts acknowledged the problems of time and resources, but also called for more
pedagogical support, greater focus on learning, acknowledgement of the wider context of plagiarism
education, and the need to look creatively for ways of dealing with the problem.

The implications of this study are that international students may not achieve the understanding,
awareness and skills in source use required at Master’s level. Their experiences of plagiarism
education may also not match those expected by their tutors, and the support they receive seems to
vary. Thus, the study calls for more attention to the international student experience of plagiarism
education throughout the whole learning process.

This paper was submitted to the International Integrity & Plagiarism Conference which ran between 2004-2014. The paper was peer reviewed by an independent editorial board and features in the conference proceedings.